Translation guide
This guide covers how to express the idea of bringing something or someone physically closer, as well as related figurative uses like drawing closer in relationships or time.
To move an object nearer to the speaker or to a reference point.
Transitive verb meaning 'to bring something closer'. Used for objects. The intransitive counterpart is 近づく (to approach).
Please bring the chair closer to the desk.
Means 'to draw something near' or 'to pull something closer'. Often used for moving objects toward oneself.
He brought the microphone closer to his mouth.
A straightforward phrase meaning 'to bring something near'. More colloquial and explicit than 近づける.
Bring that box closer.
To cause someone to come nearer, either physically or in terms of relationship.
To make a relationship more intimate or to reduce emotional distance.
Literally 'to shorten the distance'. Commonly used for relationships, meaning to become closer or to bring people closer.
Their shared hobby brought them closer together.
Means 'to make intimate' or 'to bring closer in a relationship'. More formal and less common in casual speech.
To cause something to happen sooner or to make a future event nearer.
The English phrase 'bring close' is often not directly translatable as a single Japanese verb. Use context-appropriate verbs like 近づける or 寄せる, or phrases like 近くに持ってくる.
近づける is more general for bringing something closer to any reference point. 寄せる often implies pulling something toward oneself or a specific point, and can also mean 'to gather' or 'to draw aside'.
The teacher made the student come closer.
That experience brought them closer.
The policy brought the threat of war closer.